Member Article

Largest regional out-of-town letting for two years

Following a £2 million refurbishment of its property assets at Balliol Business Park, Metnor Property Group has secured the largest out of town letting since 2016 in a deal brokered by its agents Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).

Mayborn Group, the owners of popular baby brand Tommee Tippee, have agreed to lease the 30,000 sq ft building known as Balliol House situated on Balliol Business Park in Benton which will become their new global headquarters when they move from their current base in Cramlington.

Metnor originally acquired the site in 2015 following legal advice from Sintons and when their existing tenant vacated in early 2016, they appointed LSH to advise on a strategy to refurbish the building. Faced with competition from the nearby Quorum Business Park, LSH proposed a contemporary refurbishment with exposed services and architectural lighting which gave the building a more modern and collaborative feel and differentiated the building from other out of town developments.

Work commenced in early 2017 and LSH were appointed alongside Naylors to market the available space with Michael Downey of LSH commenting that “Balliol House, as a product, stood out when Mayborn shortlisted their preferred options. Its contemporary feel and modern style has been a fantastic success story in a competitive out-of-town office market.”

Keith Atkinson, managing director of Metnor Property Group, agreed that the style of refurbishment was a gamble but is delighted that it has paid off and believes it has brought new life back to the building and to Balliol Business Park in general.

“Alongside the refurbishment of Balliol House, in the past 12 months we have carried out a minor refurbishment of the neighbouring 10,000 sq ft Victory house, as well as acquiring the 20,000 sq ft Sterling House (occupied by leading healthcare services provider Vocare). Together, these buildings represented a significant, multi million pound investment by Metnor and we are delighted that our vision has been rewarded with full occupancy”.

Tom Wills, Partner in the Real Estate team at Sintons and long-standing advisor to Metnor, said: “We are proud to continue to support Metnor at Balliol and across the region. Through their acquisition and ambitious refurbishment of Balliol House, Metnor have created an enviable location. To secure an international tenant which is using it as its global headquarters is a huge coup, and is testament to the hard work that has been done by everyone involved.”

Mayborn is scheduled to commence its tenant fit out at the end of this month and aims to take occupation in September. Neal Austin, Global Operations Director at Mayborn, has been involved in the search for new premises and is pleased with the outcome. “Our local workforce are instrumental to the success of our business and one of our key objectives in finding new offices was to minimise disruption to staff and their travel arrangements. In the vicinity, Balliol House stood out from the competition and both Metnor and LSH have adopted a pro-active approach in accommodating our requirements”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Dobson .